Summer Safety Primer

When it comes to summer, Olivia Kane, 36, mostly remembers the happy times: eating crabs on the beach, chasing flickering fireflies at night, and playing softball with friends. But there are other memories the Arlington, Va., resident wishes she could forget. Like the rash from poison ivy that broke out on her face, neck, and arms two days before she had to walk down the aisle in her sister's wedding. Or the time she went to the beach to get a tan before high school graduation. "What I got was a bright red sunburn," she says. "I had blistered cheeks, a blistered chest, and I was the graduation speaker."

But her worst summer memory was when she took a sip from a can of soda and gulped down a bee that had crawled into the can when she wasn't looking. "I knew I swallowed something," Kane says. "I got so hysterical that I threw up." Out came the bee, and she went straight to the emergency room where she was treated for difficulty breathing.

Experts say there's a lot people can do to minimize the risks of health problems related to summertime activities. "While treatment with FDA-approved products is good, prevention is even better," says Jonathan Wilkin, M.D., director of the FDA's Division of Dermatologic and Dental Drug Products. So before you pack your swimsuit or hit the hiking trail this year, brush up on these summer hazards.

More from the Summer Safety Primer:

• Avoiding Bee Stings
• Avoiding Burns From Fireworks and Grills
• Avoiding Foodborne Poisoning in the Summer
• Avoiding Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion
• Bites From Mosquitoes and Ticks
• Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac
• Poisoning in Children
• Avoiding and Treating Sunburn

^{reproduced from the FDA Consumer magazine}